We have all heard the saying that life is like a chess game. In reality, life is like a poker game and it has a simple explanation. In chess, you have everything on a table, there is no hidden information that your competitor can use against you and there is no luck involved. You can only count on your skill and the mistakes of the person on the other side of the table. In real life, you are not competing one person at a time, but there are other people who have their own ambitions and all they want is to take the place you are aiming for. There is information you do not know and have to guess, and there is a lie and luck involved – just like in a real life. If you have just learned to play chess, there is no chance you can win against the experienced player. But if you are new in poker, you might have the beginner’s luck.
Therefore, if you want to be good in business, stop counting on your chess skills and start counting on the poker, as Casimba Casino suggests, playing poker can make you a better businessman. Let’s see what can you learn from poker that can help you flourish your business.
Every hand has odds
Only one startup out of 10 is successful, meaning that 90 percent of startups fail for different reasons. It might be the wrong team, insufficient funds, bad location and etc. While some of the startups might have all the odds, it does not necessarily mean that it will be the one out of the 10. At the same time, lucking an important advantage is not a sign of a failure. It is the same in poker. One hand has the highest odds for winning, but there is no hand that has zero odds. poker is a game where the house does not always win. A poker player like a businessman or an entrepreneur might have all odds in his favor, but if he does not know how to play his cards, odds only will not help. On the contrary, you might not have all the adds for winning but playing smart – you can be a winner.
Imperfect information
According to Forbes, one of the most important lessons you can take from playing poker is the power of not being sure. When you are playing poker, you cannot wait for the full, perfect information that will help you decide how to play. Instead, you need to evaluate your risks and make the decision based on the small pieces of information once it is known. It is the same in the business, you cannot be sure what’s in the hand of your competitors but you still need to play and make your move. With poker you learn how to do it in the best way.
There’s a thing like being too smart
As reported by the Entrepreneur, smart people usually make bad entrepreneurs. Out of the several reasons supporting this statement, the article states the two most important reasons that can be seen in poker. Being too smart and coming up with the complicated scenarios and having confidence in yourself, and doubting your decisions because you have too much to lose. As mentioned above, when playing poker you need to make decisions based on imperfect information. Players who are too smart or acting like this are good at building scenarios on this information and due to the confidence believe their judgment and make decisions accordingly. While you need to guess how the other players will play, you need to believe the information you have in hands rather than something you come up by yourself. This is true in poker and in entrepreneurship. On the other hand, when you feel you are the smartest one next to the table, or in the business, you have more to lose. Therefore, players like this tend to be doubtful sometimes and be late with their decision due to the second-guessing situation over and over again.
Poker is a great teacher on how to lead your business and act when surrounded by the other players in the industry that want to be a winner as much as you do. Next time you put your chips on the table make sure that the money is not the only thing you get but the valuable lesson as well.
